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| | | From Shetland to the Scilly Isles, Open Country travels the UK in search of the stories, the people and the wildlife that make our countryside such a vibrant place. Each week we visit a new area to hear how local people are growing the crops, protecting the environment, maintaining the traditions and cooking the food that makes their corner of rural Britain unique.
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|  | | Cherwell Valley | |
Helen Mark visits Cherwell Valley in Oxfordshire, where the final stretch of M40 from Oxford to Birmingham was completed in the early 1990s. It is home to several rare species of butterfly and wetland birds, as well being a special site of scientific interest.
Helen hears how the people who have lived their all of their lives have been affected by the huge influx of people and cars that the motorway has brought to what was once a very rural area, but has since become part of the London commuter belt. Lifelong resident Tony O'Gorman shows her some of his favourite spots near the Oxford canal and takes her to meet local farmer Jeremy Brown, who still feels that the motorway is a benefit to the area despite the fact that it actually cuts right through one of his two farms.
The residents of nearby Otmoor were less willing to accommodate the building of the M40 through this historic landscape and successfully fought to prevent it cutting through the RSPB reserve that is home to many wetland birds and up to 35 species of butterfly. RSPB Otmoor site manager Neil Lambert explains why Otmoor has such a strong community history and why research has shown that it is important that major roads to not interfere with breeding sites for birds.
Oxford RSPB
One of the lasting impacts of the M40 has been the demand for more housing, roads and facilities for the large number of incomers to the area. The market town of Bicester is expanding ever outwards, threatening to engulf surrounding villages. The residents of the village of nearby Launton feel they are in danger of being swamped by new roads and houses. That's why the Launton Environmental Group clubbed together to buy a piece of land to prevent it being built on. These ten acres were originally intended to accommodate 1500 houses. Instead they are now home to 3000 trees, managed by the Woodland Trust. Helen talks to residents Ed and Angie Hammell, who provided much of the impetus for saving the land, and to John Brown of the Woodland Trust who manages the site as part of the Woodland On Your Doorstep project.
Launton Environmental Group
Despite initial fears about the building of the motorway, there are many ways in which it could be said to have improved the area around the Cherwell Valley. In fact, the Merton Borrow Pit right beside the M40 has become a successful nature reserve thanks to the building of the motorway. It is home to a large number of rare butterflies and to wild geese, who congregate by the deep waters of the pit that was dug out to provide building materials for the motorway. The Highways Agency planted woodland and scrub in an effort to minimise the damage to the environment. Craig Blackwell is the county ecologist for Oxfordshire and he is positive about the efforts the motorway developers made to put something back.
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Z to Z Britain
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